Western European

Excerpts from the community and ethnic media capture different sides of love. Some Hispanic New Yorkers don’t celebrate Valentine’s much; an Italian-American couple enjoy 72 years of love and fighting; Irishmen get tips for dating an American girl; and four Americans talk about marrying Filipinos.

The Consul General of France in New York recently praised the quality of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and France and noted that 81% of French people have a favorable image of the United States, reports French-Amerique.

In an article for Irish Central, Rob McDonagh records his observations and experiences of living in the Polish neighborhood of Greenpoint. Being surrounded by Polish culture and community takes him back to Ireland, where Poles have become a part of the “genetic landscape.”

Should American Parents take inspiration from France for education? That’s what Karen Le Billon thinks after living one year in France and teaching her daughters new eating habits, reports France-Amerique. No more snacks and whining. Now they have dinner at the table and taste everything.

Talk about a return on investment. The government of Portugal is selling an apartment it bought for $250,000 four decades ago in the famous Dakota, where Beatles legend John Lennon lived and die, for $13 million, Luso-Americano reported.

Irish Central’s Darren Redmond hit the street of Midtown Manhattan to find out what New Yorkers like about Irish men or women. Some answers might be a bit predictable — “blue eyes,” “sexy accent, “beautiful red hair” — but it still a fun video to watch.

The Polish publication Nowy Dziennik will soon expand their weekly TV program to a daily broadcast. And the Irish channel Ireland Today hopes to launch in the spring. Both say they will offer viewers news reports and cultural offerings from both sides of the Atlantic.

As summer arrives in New York City, so will thousands of Irish students on J-1 visas. The Irish Voice spoke to Irish students about to arrive in New York and the local organizations that help the Irish visitors settle for the summer — and even play some sports that remind them of home.

Mulberry Street residents say life is already intolerable during September’s San Gennaro festival, and an extension of the festival would only make it worse. Business owners say they need the festival to boost their foot traffic.

The war of words over Hoboken’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade continues. In the latest development, the city’s St. Patrick’s Committee canceled this year’s celebration because of a dispute with Mayor Dawn Zimmer.

As the White House urged Congress to withhold $600 million in nutrition assistance to Puerto Rico, officials responded angrily that this is only the latest in a series of President Trump’s attempts to stop the flow of federal aid to the island, El Nuevo Día reports. Political analyst Domingo Emanuelli found the Trump government's actions “barbaric,” and urged Puerto Rican Republicans to reconsider their allegiance. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said: “I shouted against Trump’s abuses from the start while others were chummy with him. Trump is not the plantation owner and we are not his slaves.” Link to original story →

The Indigenous Peoples March being held in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18, a day ahead of the Women's March, will bring together groups from Puerto Rico to South America and Central America, reports Remezcla, to focus attention on issues from voter suppression to human trafficking to police brutality to what is called an “environmental holocaust” by activists. “I think it’s a collective cry for help because we’re in a time of crisis that we have not seen in a very long time,” says Nathalie Farfan, an Ecuadorean Indigenous woman and event organizer. Link to original story →

After vowing to create a more inclusive school system in North Carolina, the Durham Board of Education introduced a new department of second language services to serve newly-arrived immigrants who don’t speak English as a first language, Qué Pasa Noticias reports. One of the main goals of the initiative will be to coordinate a translation and interpretation system to help families participate in their children’s education. “As our Latinx population keeps growing we keep opening our schools’ doors to those arriving from all over the world,” said Superintendent Pascal Mubenga. Link to original story →

With Sen. Kamala Harris expected to announce her decision on a presidential run, The American Bazaar asks members of the Indian-American community about the potential candidacy of the California native. While some celebrated the possibility of Harris, who is of Jamaican-Indian descent, running amid the current political atmosphere, others say the country is "still not ready for a female president and certainly not a non-white." Link to original story →